Chapter 1

As I yanked hard to wrench the drill bit free, the chains scraped harshly with each pull.

Viola Jenkins sensed something was wrong and immediately grabbed the radio. "Elden Howard, what the hell are you doing?"

I didn't pause for a second because I was running out of oxygen.

"Have you lost your mind? That's an eight-billion-dollar structure!" she screamed in a high-pitched voice when I didn't answer.

I scoffed at her words and snapped back, "So what?"

I was nearly suffocating to death, so why should I care about her precious structure?

Viola's tone shifted instantly, and her voice carried a trace of panic as she tried to negotiate. "Don't be reckless, Elden. We're talking about eight billion dollars here!"

Catching the fear in her voice, I let out a cold laugh and spat back, "Now you're worried about me being reckless?

"Where was that concern when you cut off my oxygen? Where was it when you bolted the manhole cover shut over my head?"

Before she could respond, Ron Carey chimed in with a cold sneer. "Don't let him scare you, Viola. I doubt he has the guts to damage the site.

"This structure is worth eight billion dollars; he can't afford to pay for it even if he lives 100 lives.

"Elden, quit the drama and clean the sludge off the drill bit now!"

At his words, I worked faster, and the grating of chains echoed loudly in my ears. Now, all I could hear was the scraping metal and frantic pounding of my oxygen-starved heart.

Viola was finally terrified. Her voice trembled as she yelled, "This is a government-backed project, Elden! If this fails, we're all doomed!"

"I'm the lead dive engineer," I cut her off and snapped back. "Are you saying that I don't know how much this site is worth?"

With the project behind schedule, everyone was pushing hard to meet the deadline. If it failed, the entire company would pay the price and go down with it.

Viola pleaded in a shaky voice, "I just wanted to see how long you could hold your breath. I swear I didn't mean anything else!

"Come up now. We'll open the cover right away!"

Beside her, Ron quickly added, "She's right! Stay calm, Elden. I'm lifting the cover as we speak!"

Another two minutes passed, and I still heard nothing from above. Right now, my tank was completely empty, and the world began to spin as dizziness clouded my vision.

Holding my breath, I scoffed into the radio. "Listen to me, Viola. If I die here today, I'm taking all of you with me.

"I'm destroying this drill bit. When the investigators look at the logs, they'll find that you're the one at fault!"

With that, I resumed yanking at the drill bit with all my strength.